Hello guys,

Well, 10 years in these Ohio winters with road crews using lots of salt, my exhaust manifold nuts have rotted away. (only 68K miles).

I have 6 that I cannot remove just to get the exhaust manifods off, let alone trying to get the broken studs out of the heads. On the drivers side, there is only one. The 2nd one back on the bottom. I cannot even get a socket on that one with the motor mount frame in the way.

On the passenger side I have 2 up top on the middle 3 on the bottom.

The nuts that I was able to remove used anywhere from 13 mm to 10 mm, what ever would fit on the rusted nut.

Where do I go from here? Do I need to unbolt the motor mount and try to lift the engine? or start taking apart the engine to remove the heads?

I'm 42 and a handy backyard mechanic, but this job is the worst ever.

 

Get a nut splitter, at any auto supply.
Have you used anything like PB Blaster? Also available at your favorite auto supply.
<O</O
ab

 

I got mine out by removing the wheel and wheel well liner. Then I used (like you did) anything that would fit on the nuts that were there. Then after getting the manifolds off, I used a 19.2 right angle drill and easy out kit from sears to get the studs out. I did round one hole but got them all out and all new in.

 

I have used a lot of PB Blaster.

I have not tried a nut splitter. Will I be able to get the the lower 2nd one blocked by the frame of the motor mount? This seems nearly impossible.

I have the wheel and wheel well liner removed.

 

As soon as the sun comes up I will go out and see if my drill will fit in there. They come out real easy. Well, mine did once you got a hold of them. I had four on the passenger side that broke with stubs sticking out of the head. You couldn't tell until you got the manifold off but a vise grip pulled them right out. I think the number four cylinder was the one i drilled side ways.

 

A couple of times I’ve gone as far as I can (motorcycle wheel problem summer before last) then seek professional help.
<O</O
Ask your friends relatives and co-workers someone knows a Ford mechanic that does work like this on the side.
<O</O
By the time you buy new head gaskets, antifreeze, etc you’ll have spent as much as a pro will charge you.
<O</O
Good luck
ab

 

Vice grips are your friend - just be sure not to let them slip too much, the nut will get so smooth the vice grips won't grab anymore.

I'm not sure a nut splitter would get in that tight spot between the nut and the manifold.

If you have to, unbolt the motor mount from the frame and jack the engine up - I did. Made it much easier to get to the bottom holes where the two rear-most ones were busted off.

If you haven't already, remove the shock mount from the frame, that'll help a lot too.

 

I did make a little progress last night getting the 2 top bolts off with a nut extractor. I am going to to buy the inbetween size (#4) tonight as I have #3,5,7.

I am now down to 4 bolts to remove.

One driver's side bottom 2nd back.

Middle 3 on the passanger side bottom.

Krewat - Where do I lift the motor once I unbolt it?
These nuts are also very rusty but at least they are large and still have some meat on them.

 

When I really needed to get in there, it was the passenger side, and I put a bottle jack between the front lip on the crossmember, and the bottom of the AC compressor mount, one of the vertical bolt heads I think. And went VERY easy - the tranny dipstick was up against the firewall pretty hard. On the driver's side, I don't remember, but I recall it might have been one of the oil pan bolts. I know, not the best place, but I went really easy and was very careful not to let the head of the bottle jack walk off the bolt head.

 

Best option is a cherry picker... But before I had one, I have been known to use a scrap of 2x8 (on edge) between a floor jack and oil pan flange. And once engine is to desired height, shove other stuff between the engine and cross members to catch it if it shifts. Even wood between oil pan and crossmember. May damage oil pan if things did go south, but the goal is to avoid crushing my body parts.
A bit precarious, yes. But it does a nice job of distributing the load and avoiding damage to oil pan. And the oil pan bolts dig into the wood and kinda lock it into place.

 

I had holes in the parts that come off the frame in towards the motor that hold the motor mount I was able to bring a socket through on an extension.

Also try different depth sockets, or go 1/2" drive with a 3/8" reducer then socket to adjust the length and a mirror. I was able to get on every bolt without jacking up the motor. By the time I was done I didn't need the mirror, I could find them by feel as I put the new bolts in. I went with flange head bolts.

Once you can get the manifold off its like working in a vast open space compared to what you have going on now. It was/is an exercise in patience.

 

And in one case I had to bring the extension through without the socket and bring the socket in from the top and put on the extension.

 

Guys, I appreciate all these helpful comments.

Last night I was able to remove both shocks, shock mounts and the 4 motor mount nuts. I have not yet tried lifting the engine, but that seems to be next in line.

I still have 4 nuts to remove on the manifolds.

 

That was my next suggestion, to remove the shocks and shock mounts if you hadn't.

Did you see if you could find a hole through the motor mount mount off the frame you could sneak through?

 

I will check this tonight. Thanks to all the help I think I can get-r-done.